US20050264963A1 - Electrostatic discharge protective circuit and semiconductor integrated circuit using the same - Google Patents
Electrostatic discharge protective circuit and semiconductor integrated circuit using the same Download PDFInfo
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- US20050264963A1 US20050264963A1 US11/094,091 US9409105A US2005264963A1 US 20050264963 A1 US20050264963 A1 US 20050264963A1 US 9409105 A US9409105 A US 9409105A US 2005264963 A1 US2005264963 A1 US 2005264963A1
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- 230000001681 protective effect Effects 0.000 title claims abstract description 81
- 239000004065 semiconductor Substances 0.000 title claims description 19
- 238000007599 discharging Methods 0.000 claims description 2
- 238000010586 diagram Methods 0.000 description 12
- 230000003071 parasitic effect Effects 0.000 description 11
- 230000009471 action Effects 0.000 description 6
- 230000015556 catabolic process Effects 0.000 description 4
- 239000010408 film Substances 0.000 description 3
- 230000004048 modification Effects 0.000 description 3
- 238000012986 modification Methods 0.000 description 3
- 239000010409 thin film Substances 0.000 description 3
- 230000008901 benefit Effects 0.000 description 2
- 230000008878 coupling Effects 0.000 description 2
- 238000010168 coupling process Methods 0.000 description 2
- 238000005859 coupling reaction Methods 0.000 description 2
- 238000009413 insulation Methods 0.000 description 2
- 230000003247 decreasing effect Effects 0.000 description 1
- 238000009792 diffusion process Methods 0.000 description 1
- 230000000694 effects Effects 0.000 description 1
- 238000005516 engineering process Methods 0.000 description 1
- 230000007274 generation of a signal involved in cell-cell signaling Effects 0.000 description 1
- 230000004044 response Effects 0.000 description 1
- 230000001960 triggered effect Effects 0.000 description 1
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- H—ELECTRICITY
- H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
- H01L—SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES NOT COVERED BY CLASS H10
- H01L27/00—Devices consisting of a plurality of semiconductor or other solid-state components formed in or on a common substrate
- H01L27/02—Devices consisting of a plurality of semiconductor or other solid-state components formed in or on a common substrate including semiconductor components specially adapted for rectifying, oscillating, amplifying or switching and having potential barriers; including integrated passive circuit elements having potential barriers
- H01L27/04—Devices consisting of a plurality of semiconductor or other solid-state components formed in or on a common substrate including semiconductor components specially adapted for rectifying, oscillating, amplifying or switching and having potential barriers; including integrated passive circuit elements having potential barriers the substrate being a semiconductor body
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- H—ELECTRICITY
- H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
- H01L—SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES NOT COVERED BY CLASS H10
- H01L27/00—Devices consisting of a plurality of semiconductor or other solid-state components formed in or on a common substrate
- H01L27/02—Devices consisting of a plurality of semiconductor or other solid-state components formed in or on a common substrate including semiconductor components specially adapted for rectifying, oscillating, amplifying or switching and having potential barriers; including integrated passive circuit elements having potential barriers
- H01L27/0203—Particular design considerations for integrated circuits
- H01L27/0248—Particular design considerations for integrated circuits for electrical or thermal protection, e.g. electrostatic discharge [ESD] protection
- H01L27/0251—Particular design considerations for integrated circuits for electrical or thermal protection, e.g. electrostatic discharge [ESD] protection for MOS devices
- H01L27/0259—Particular design considerations for integrated circuits for electrical or thermal protection, e.g. electrostatic discharge [ESD] protection for MOS devices using bipolar transistors as protective elements
- H01L27/0262—Particular design considerations for integrated circuits for electrical or thermal protection, e.g. electrostatic discharge [ESD] protection for MOS devices using bipolar transistors as protective elements including a PNP transistor and a NPN transistor, wherein each of said transistors has its base coupled to the collector of the other transistor, e.g. silicon controlled rectifier [SCR] devices
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
- H01L—SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES NOT COVERED BY CLASS H10
- H01L2924/00—Indexing scheme for arrangements or methods for connecting or disconnecting semiconductor or solid-state bodies as covered by H01L24/00
- H01L2924/0001—Technical content checked by a classifier
- H01L2924/0002—Not covered by any one of groups H01L24/00, H01L24/00 and H01L2224/00
Definitions
- the present invention relates to an electrostatic discharge protective circuit and a semiconductor integrated circuit device using the same.
- the input/output buffer circuit is formed of a thick film transistor in which the gate insulation film is formed to be thick, but in order to operate the input/output buffer circuit at high speeds, in some cases, the input/output buffer circuits also need to be formed of thin film transistors.
- an output buffer circuit 76 which is formed of a pair of thin film PMOS device 71 and NMOS device 72 is connected between power source terminals 74 and 75 to which voltages VDD and VSS are applied, respectively. These terminals 74 and 75 will be referred to as VDD terminal and VSS terminal, hereinafter.
- An output of the output buffer circuit 76 is supplied to an I/O terminal 73 .
- An ESD (electrostatic discharge) protective circuit 79 which comprises the PMOS device 77 and the NMOS device 78 is provided in parallel with the output buffer circuit 76 .
- the gate of the NMOS device 78 which forms the protective circuit 79 is connected to the power source terminal 75 such that the NMOS device 78 is normally set to be off and is not turned on due to an output signal applied to the I/O terminal 73 .
- the size of the ESD protective circuit 79 must be increased in order to increase the current capacity of the discharge path, but in general, the parasitic capacitance is large for a large MOS device, and this is inconsistent with increasing the operation speed. For this reason, as shown in FIG. 8 , instead of using MOS devices in the ESD protective circuit 79 , a protective device 81 such as an SCR (Semiconductor Controlled Rectifier) which has low parasitic capacitance and high discharge capacity is used in the ESD protective circuit together with diodes 82 and 83 . In the circuit of FIG. 8 , the VDD terminal 74 and the I/O terminal 73 are isolated by the diode 82 and the I/O terminal 73 and the VSS terminal 75 are isolated by the diode 83 .
- SCR semiconductor Controlled Rectifier
- the trigger voltage of the SCR must be set so as to be lower than the trigger voltage or the turning on voltage of the NMOS device 72 of the buffer circuit 76 .
- the electric potential at the gate of the buffer circuit and the internal circuit shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 at the time when the ESD voltage is applied is not generally fixed and is almost in a floating state, so that it is difficult to predict the sufficient trigger voltage. For example, it is impossible to accurately set the trigger voltage for the MOS device 72 at all cases. As a result, it is also difficult to set the trigger voltage at the protective device 81 .
- an electrostatic discharge protective circuit comprising: a first node; a second node which is electrically isolated from the first node; an ESD protective circuit which has a trigger terminal and forms a discharge path from the first node to the second node when trigger signals are supplied to the trigger terminal; and a trigger circuit included in a circuit to be protected which is connected between the first and second nodes, the trigger circuit having a first MOS device in which one of the source and the drain is connected to the first node, and which functions as a part of the circuit to be protected at the time of normal operation when ESD voltage is not applied, and forms a conductive path between the drain and source when ESD voltage or a predetermined voltage which is larger than a normal value applied to the first node during a normal operation is applied, and supplying the trigger signals to the trigger terminal of the ESD protective circuit when the first MOS device is turned on.
- FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a circuit configuration of an embodiment of the invention
- FIG. 2 is a circuit diagram showing a circuit configuration in the case where an SCR circuit is used as an ESD protective circuit of the embodiment in FIG. 1 ;
- FIG. 3 is a circuit diagram showing a modified example of the embodiment shown in FIG. 2 ;
- FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a configuration of another embodiment of the invention.
- FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a configuration of yet another embodiment of the invention.
- FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing a configuration of yet another embodiment of the invention.
- FIG. 7 is a circuit diagram showing a configuration of an example of a conventional electrostatic discharge protective circuit.
- FIG. 8 is a circuit diagram showing a configuration of another example of the conventional electrostatic discharge protective circuit.
- FIG. 1 is a block diagram for schematically showing an entire configuration of a first embodiment in which the invention is applied in a data output section of a semiconductor integrated circuit device.
- an internal circuit 11 of the semiconductor integrated circuit device is connected to a VDD terminal 12 and a VSS terminal 13 and energized.
- a data output from the internal circuit 11 is output to a data output terminal 15 via an output buffer circuit 14 .
- the output buffer circuit 14 comprises a PMOS device 16 whose source is connected to the VDD terminal 12 and an NMOS device 17 whose drain is connected to a drain of the PMOS device 16 , and respective gates are connected to the data output section of the internal circuit 11 .
- a source of the NMOS device 17 is connected to the VSS terminal 13 via an NMOS device 18 , and also to a trigger terminal of an ESD protective circuit 20 via a PMOS device 19 which functions as a trigger circuit.
- a gate of the PMOS device 19 is connected to the VDD terminal 12 .
- a discharge path for an ESD surge current provided in the ESD protective circuit 20 is connected between the output terminal 15 and the VSS terminal 13 .
- the power source voltage VDD is applied from the VDD terminal 12 to the gate of the PMOS device 19 .
- the PMOS device 19 is kept off, and the ESD protective circuit 20 is kept in a non-operative state.
- ESD voltage of several thousands with respect to a grounding terminal 13 , for example, is applied to the data output terminal 15 .
- This ESD voltage is applied to a surge input terminal of the ESD protective circuit 20 , and also applied to the drain of the PMOS device 16 and the drain of the NMOS device 17 from an output node of the output buffer circuit 14 .
- the NMOS device 17 herein has a configuration in which N-type diffusion regions acting as the source and drain are formed inside a P-type well, so that a parasitic NPN bipolar transistor 17 a is formed inside the NMOS device 17 .
- a positive ESD voltage is applied to the drain of the NMOS device 17
- a large voltage in the reverse direction is applied to an NP junction formed between the N-type drain and the P-type well.
- an avalanche breakdown current is generated due to the avalanche effect at the NP junction in the parasitic NPN bipolar transistor 17 a . This phenomenon is referred to as a snapback action hereinafter.
- the parasitic NPN bipolar transistor 17 a formed in the NMOS device 17 conducts current due to the snapback action, and the initial current flows to a coupling node VO formed between the NMOS device 17 and the PMOS device 19 and, causing a sudden increase in the electric potential at the node VO.
- the relationship between the voltage Vgs between the gate and source of the PMOS device 19 and the threshold value Vth thereof is such that Vgs>Vth, so that the PMOS device 19 becomes conductive.
- circuits to be protected by the ESD protective circuit include the internal circuit 11 and MOS devices 16 to 18 which are connected between the power source terminals 12 and 13 , as well as the MOS device 19 .
- the MOS devices 16 to 18 function as a part of the circuit to be protected along with the internal circuit 11 .
- the MOS devices 17 and 19 mainly function as a trigger circuit for trigger signal generation.
- FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of the second embodiment in which an SCR circuit is used as the ESD protective circuit 20 shown in FIG. 1 , and the portions in FIG. 1 are assigned with the same or similar reference characters and descriptions thereof are omitted.
- an SCR circuit 20 A comprises two bipolar transistors 21 and 22 , and an emitter of the transistor 21 is connected via a diode 27 in the reverse direction to the data output terminal 15 , and a collector of the transistor 21 is connected to the drain of the PMOS transistor 19 and also connected to the VSS terminal 13 via a resistor 23 .
- the diode 27 may be of a multiple-diode type or may be omitted.
- a collector of the other transistor 22 is connected to a base of the transistor 21 , a base of the transistor 22 is connected at a connection point of the PMOS transistor 19 and the resistor 23 of the trigger circuit, and an emitter of the transistor 22 is connected to the VSS terminal 13 .
- a diode 24 provided in the reverse direction with respect to the power source VDD is connected between the data output terminal 15 and the VDD terminal 12 as shown in FIG. 2 .
- a diode 25 in the reverse direction with respect to the ground potential VSS is connected between the data output terminal 15 and the VSS terminal 13 .
- the voltage between the base and the emitter of the bipolar transistor 22 increases, the transistor 22 is turned on, and the base potential of the NPN bipolar transistor 21 is decreased to a level close to the ground potential VSS.
- the SCR circuit 20 A is turned on due to conduction state of the transistor 21 , and the ESD surge current applied to the terminal 15 is quickly discharged via the discharge path formed in the SCR circuit 20 A.
- the NMOS device 17 which is a part of the data output buffer circuit 14 functioning as a part of the circuit to be protected is prevented from being damaged by the ESD surge voltage from the outside.
- the SCR circuit 20 A is composed of the bipolar transistors, the SCR circuit 20 A has low parasitic capacitance and does not hinder the high speed operation of the semiconductor integrated circuit. Also, the trigger operation of the SCR circuit 20 A is controlled and set by the buffer circuit 14 itself and thus circuit design is much simpler.
- FIG. 3 shows a modified embodiment using a resistor 18 R in place of the MOS device 18 in the second embodiment shown in FIG. 2 .
- the other parts are the same as in FIG. 2 and are assigned the same reference characters and descriptions thereof are omitted.
- the MOS device 18 in a normal operation state, is logically controlled so as to be usually off by gate signals applied from the internal circuit 11 to the gate, but in the modification of FIG. 3 , this type of logical control operation is unnecessary.
- FIG. 3 after the potential of the node VO is increased due to the ESD surge voltage applied to the data output terminal 15 , this potential is gradually reduced via the resistor device 18 R.
- the resistor value it is sufficient for the resistor value to be such that the potential VO of the node is maintained not lower than a predetermined value in the short period of time when the SCR circuit 20 A becomes conductive due to the turning on of the PMOS device 19 because of the increase in the potential of the node VO.
- This potential increase is caused by the avalanche breakdown at the NPN structure in the NMOS device 17 in the similar manner as the case of FIGS. 1 and 2 .
- the value of the resistor 18 R must be set such that the performance of the buffer circuit 14 at the time of normal operation is not affected.
- the MOS devices 16 , 17 and 18 and the resistor 18 R function as a part of the circuit to be protected when the ESD voltage is not applied, and function as a trigger circuit when the ESD voltage is applied.
- the gate of the PMOS device 19 is connected to the VDD terminal 12 .
- the configuration is not restricted to this, the gate of the PMOS device 19 may be connected to a VDD terminal other than the VDD terminal 12 , for example. That is, the gate of the PMOS device 19 may be controlled high-level during the normal operation.
- FIG. 4 is a block diagram of yet another embodiment of the invention.
- the ESD protective circuit 20 or the SCR circuit 20 A is inserted between the data output terminal 15 and the VSS terminal 13 , and the ESD surge current is discharged to the VSS terminal 13 via the circuit 20 or 20 A.
- the ESD protective circuit 20 is inserted between the data output terminal 15 and the VSS terminal 13
- another ESD protective circuit 30 is inserted between the data output terminal 15 and the VDD terminal 12 .
- a trigger circuit 31 of the ESD protective circuit 20 is connected to a connection node VOL of the NMOS device 17 and the NMOS device 18 of the output buffer circuit 14 , and also a trigger circuit 32 of the ESD protective circuit 30 is connected to a connection node VOH of the PMOS device 16 and a PMOS device 33 of the output buffer circuit 14 .
- a source of the PMOS device 33 is connected to the VDD terminal 12 .
- the trigger circuit 31 is formed of, for example, a PMOS device, and a gate as a control device of the trigger circuit is connected to the VDD terminal 12 as is the case in the first embodiment of FIG. 1 so as to set to be off in a normal state.
- the trigger circuit 32 is formed of a NMOS device and a gate as a control device of the trigger circuit is connected to the VSS terminal 13 , and is normally set to be off.
- the MOS devices 16 , 17 , 18 and 33 function as a part of the circuit to be protected including the internal circuit 11 .
- the ESD surge voltage is applied to the data output terminal 15 with the VSS terminal 13 as the grounding.
- this ESD surge voltage is a positive high voltage
- the surge current caused by the ESD surge voltage is discharged to the VSS terminal 13 via the ESD protective circuit 20 as is the case in the embodiment of FIG. 1 .
- FIG. 5 shows a circuit configuration of yet another embodiment of the invention.
- the configuration of this embodiment is one in which the embodiment shown in FIG. 4 is improved further, and an SCR circuit 20 A having the same configuration as that of FIG. 3 is connected between the data output terminal 15 and the VSS terminal 13 as the ESD protective circuit 20 of FIG. 4 .
- An SCR circuit 20 B having the same configuration as the SCR circuit 20 A is connected between the VDD terminal 12 and the data output terminal 15 as the ESD protective circuit 30 of FIG. 4 .
- an SCR circuit 20 C is connected between the VDD terminal 12 and the VSS terminal 13 as a third ESD protective circuit.
- PMOS devices 19 A, 19 B and 19 C which configure trigger circuits for supplying trigger signals to the SCR circuits 20 A, 20 B and 20 C are connected between the bases of the PNP bipolar transistors 22 A, 22 B and 22 C which are the trigger signal terminals for the node VOL and VOH respectively, and the gate voltage is controlled by the high level control signals from, for example, the internal circuit 11 , such that it is on at the time of normal operation.
- the PMOS device 19 C will become conductive in response to a high potential appearing at the node VOH due to the avalanche breakdown in the parasitic PNP transistor formed in the PMOS device 33 , thereby discharging the ESD voltage via the circuit 20 C.
- the MOS devices 17 , 18 and 33 function as a part of the circuit to be protected which includes the internal circuit 11 , and function as a part of the circuit for supplying the trigger signals to the SCR circuits 20 A to 20 C when the ESD voltage is applied.
- FIG. 6 is a block diagram of a configuration of yet another embodiment of the invention.
- An ESD protective circuit 50 shown in FIG. 6 may use the SCR circuit 20 A used in the second embodiment shown in FIG. 2 , for example.
- the ESD protective circuit 50 and a circuit to be protected 51 are connected in parallel between a power source terminal 100 having a predetermined positive potential VDD and a grounding terminal 200 of a potential VSS.
- the internal structure of the circuit to be protected 51 is not shown, but at least a MOS circuit which functions as a part of the circuit to be protected 51 when ESD voltage is applied is formed therein.
- the configuration of the MOS circuit is such that when ESD voltage is applied to the power source terminal 100 , the MOS circuit becomes conductive to make a current flow due to the ESD voltage.
- the current is supplied to the ESD protective circuit 50 as the trigger signal, the ESD protective circuit 50 becomes conductive, and the ESD voltage from the power source terminal 100 to the VSS terminal 200 can be quickly discharged and the circuit to be protected 51 is prevented from being damaged by the ESD voltage.
- the MOS circuit provided in the circuit to be protected 51 functions as a trigger signal generating circuit, and thus an electrostatic discharge protective circuit which has a simple circuit configuration and low parasitic capacitance as well as high ESD protective capability can be provided for effectively preventing the circuit to be protected 51 from being damaged by the ESD voltage.
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Abstract
Description
- This application is based upon and claims the benefit of priority from prior Japanese Patent Application No. 2004-155051, filed May 25, 2004, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
- 1. Field of the Invention
- The present invention relates to an electrostatic discharge protective circuit and a semiconductor integrated circuit device using the same.
- 2. Description of the Related Art
- As an interface of a semiconductor integrated circuit device is made to function at higher speeds, there is increasing demand for higher speed input/output buffer circuits connected between an internal circuit and an input/output terminal of a semiconductor integrated circuit. Normally, a logic circuit section of the internal circuit is required to be operated particularly at high speeds, and as a result a thin film transistor in which a thin gate insulation film is used is provided as a component thereof. Meanwhile, the input/output buffer circuit is formed of a thick film transistor in which the gate insulation film is formed to be thick, but in order to operate the input/output buffer circuit at high speeds, in some cases, the input/output buffer circuits also need to be formed of thin film transistors.
- For example, as shown in
FIG. 7 , anoutput buffer circuit 76 which is formed of a pair of thinfilm PMOS device 71 andNMOS device 72 is connected betweenpower source terminals terminals output buffer circuit 76 is supplied to an I/O terminal 73. An ESD (electrostatic discharge)protective circuit 79 which comprises thePMOS device 77 and theNMOS device 78 is provided in parallel with theoutput buffer circuit 76. In this case, the gate of theNMOS device 78 which forms theprotective circuit 79 is connected to thepower source terminal 75 such that theNMOS device 78 is normally set to be off and is not turned on due to an output signal applied to the I/O terminal 73. - In this state, when the ESD voltage is applied to the I/
O terminal 73, and if the gate of thethin transistors output buffer circuit 76 is in a floating state, theoutput buffer circuit 76 will be turned on first. As a result, a large ESD surge current flows from theNMOS device 72 of theoutput buffer circuit 76 to theVSS terminal 75, and theNMOS device 72 may be damaged before it is protected by the ESDprotective circuit 79. - In addition, the size of the ESD
protective circuit 79 must be increased in order to increase the current capacity of the discharge path, but in general, the parasitic capacitance is large for a large MOS device, and this is inconsistent with increasing the operation speed. For this reason, as shown inFIG. 8 , instead of using MOS devices in the ESDprotective circuit 79, aprotective device 81 such as an SCR (Semiconductor Controlled Rectifier) which has low parasitic capacitance and high discharge capacity is used in the ESD protective circuit together withdiodes FIG. 8 , theVDD terminal 74 and the I/O terminal 73 are isolated by thediode 82 and the I/O terminal 73 and theVSS terminal 75 are isolated by thediode 83. - In the case where the
protective device 81 comprising the SCR is used as the ESD protective circuit, the trigger voltage of the SCR must be set so as to be lower than the trigger voltage or the turning on voltage of theNMOS device 72 of thebuffer circuit 76. However, since the electric potential at the gate of the buffer circuit and the internal circuit shown inFIGS. 7 and 8 at the time when the ESD voltage is applied is not generally fixed and is almost in a floating state, so that it is difficult to predict the sufficient trigger voltage. For example, it is impossible to accurately set the trigger voltage for theMOS device 72 at all cases. As a result, it is also difficult to set the trigger voltage at theprotective device 81. - An example of a prior art using such an ESD protective circuit comprising SCR is that described Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication No. 8-293583. In the technology described in this publication, SCR is used for protecting an input/output buffer, but the configuration is complex because an SCR trigger dedicated circuit for triggering the SCR is formed separately from the input/output buffer. In addition, when ESD voltage is applied, a buffer circuit that is to be protected before the SCR trigger dedicate circuit operates, operates first and thus there is the possibility that a large current caused by the ESD flows to the buffer circuit which is damage.
- According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided an electrostatic discharge protective circuit comprising: a first node; a second node which is electrically isolated from the first node; an ESD protective circuit which has a trigger terminal and forms a discharge path from the first node to the second node when trigger signals are supplied to the trigger terminal; and a trigger circuit included in a circuit to be protected which is connected between the first and second nodes, the trigger circuit having a first MOS device in which one of the source and the drain is connected to the first node, and which functions as a part of the circuit to be protected at the time of normal operation when ESD voltage is not applied, and forms a conductive path between the drain and source when ESD voltage or a predetermined voltage which is larger than a normal value applied to the first node during a normal operation is applied, and supplying the trigger signals to the trigger terminal of the ESD protective circuit when the first MOS device is turned on.
-
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a circuit configuration of an embodiment of the invention; -
FIG. 2 is a circuit diagram showing a circuit configuration in the case where an SCR circuit is used as an ESD protective circuit of the embodiment inFIG. 1 ; -
FIG. 3 is a circuit diagram showing a modified example of the embodiment shown inFIG. 2 ; -
FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a configuration of another embodiment of the invention; -
FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a configuration of yet another embodiment of the invention; -
FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing a configuration of yet another embodiment of the invention; -
FIG. 7 is a circuit diagram showing a configuration of an example of a conventional electrostatic discharge protective circuit; and -
FIG. 8 is a circuit diagram showing a configuration of another example of the conventional electrostatic discharge protective circuit. - Embodiments of the invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
- <First Embodiment>
-
FIG. 1 is a block diagram for schematically showing an entire configuration of a first embodiment in which the invention is applied in a data output section of a semiconductor integrated circuit device. InFIG. 1 , aninternal circuit 11 of the semiconductor integrated circuit device is connected to aVDD terminal 12 and aVSS terminal 13 and energized. A data output from theinternal circuit 11 is output to adata output terminal 15 via anoutput buffer circuit 14. - The
output buffer circuit 14 comprises aPMOS device 16 whose source is connected to theVDD terminal 12 and anNMOS device 17 whose drain is connected to a drain of thePMOS device 16, and respective gates are connected to the data output section of theinternal circuit 11. A source of theNMOS device 17 is connected to theVSS terminal 13 via anNMOS device 18, and also to a trigger terminal of an ESDprotective circuit 20 via aPMOS device 19 which functions as a trigger circuit. A gate of thePMOS device 19 is connected to theVDD terminal 12. A discharge path for an ESD surge current provided in the ESDprotective circuit 20 is connected between theoutput terminal 15 and theVSS terminal 13. - In the circuit of
FIG. 1 , in the normal operating state in which the ESD voltage is not applied to thedata output terminal 15, the power source voltage VDD is applied from theVDD terminal 12 to the gate of thePMOS device 19. In this state, thePMOS device 19 is kept off, and the ESDprotective circuit 20 is kept in a non-operative state. - Assume that in this state, positive ESD voltage of several thousands with respect to a
grounding terminal 13, for example, is applied to thedata output terminal 15. This ESD voltage is applied to a surge input terminal of the ESDprotective circuit 20, and also applied to the drain of thePMOS device 16 and the drain of theNMOS device 17 from an output node of theoutput buffer circuit 14. - The
NMOS device 17 herein has a configuration in which N-type diffusion regions acting as the source and drain are formed inside a P-type well, so that a parasitic NPNbipolar transistor 17 a is formed inside theNMOS device 17. Thus, when a positive ESD voltage is applied to the drain of theNMOS device 17, a large voltage in the reverse direction is applied to an NP junction formed between the N-type drain and the P-type well. As a result, an avalanche breakdown current is generated due to the avalanche effect at the NP junction in the parasitic NPNbipolar transistor 17 a. This phenomenon is referred to as a snapback action hereinafter. - Meanwhile, because a PN junction is formed in the forward direction between the P-type well and the N-type source, the parasitic NPN
bipolar transistor 17 a formed in theNMOS device 17 conducts current due to the snapback action, and the initial current flows to a coupling node VO formed between theNMOS device 17 and thePMOS device 19 and, causing a sudden increase in the electric potential at the node VO. As a result, the relationship between the voltage Vgs between the gate and source of thePMOS device 19 and the threshold value Vth thereof is such that Vgs>Vth, so that thePMOS device 19 becomes conductive. When thePMOS device 19 configuring the trigger circuit becomes conductive, trigger current flows to the trigger terminal of the ESDprotective circuit 20, and as a result, the ESDprotective circuit 20 becomes conductive. Consequently, the current caused by the ESD surge voltage applied to thedata output terminal 15 takes the discharge path of the ESDprotective circuit 20 and is discharged, thereby preventing damage from being applied to theoutput buffer circuit 14. - In this manner, according to this embodiment, circuits to be protected by the ESD protective circuit include the
internal circuit 11 andMOS devices 16 to 18 which are connected between thepower source terminals MOS device 19. During a period of time when the ESD voltage is not applied, theMOS devices 16 to 18 function as a part of the circuit to be protected along with theinternal circuit 11. When the ESD voltage is applied, theMOS devices - <Second Embodiment>
-
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of the second embodiment in which an SCR circuit is used as the ESDprotective circuit 20 shown inFIG. 1 , and the portions inFIG. 1 are assigned with the same or similar reference characters and descriptions thereof are omitted. InFIG. 2 , anSCR circuit 20A comprises twobipolar transistors transistor 21 is connected via adiode 27 in the reverse direction to thedata output terminal 15, and a collector of thetransistor 21 is connected to the drain of thePMOS transistor 19 and also connected to theVSS terminal 13 via aresistor 23. Thediode 27 may be of a multiple-diode type or may be omitted. A collector of theother transistor 22 is connected to a base of thetransistor 21, a base of thetransistor 22 is connected at a connection point of thePMOS transistor 19 and theresistor 23 of the trigger circuit, and an emitter of thetransistor 22 is connected to theVSS terminal 13. It is to be noted that although it is not shown inFIG. 1 , adiode 24 provided in the reverse direction with respect to the power source VDD is connected between thedata output terminal 15 and theVDD terminal 12 as shown inFIG. 2 . Further, adiode 25 in the reverse direction with respect to the ground potential VSS is connected between thedata output terminal 15 and theVSS terminal 13. - In the circuit of
FIG. 2 , when ESD surge voltage is applied to thedata output terminal 15, as is the case inFIG. 1 , theNMOS device 17 in thebuffer circuit 14 causes snapback action and the parasitic NPN bipolar transistor becomes conductive, and thereby the initial current flows into the coupling node VO. As a result, the electric potential at the node VO becomes at an extremely high level, thePMOS device 19 configuring the trigger circuit is turned on, and the current from thedevice 19 flows as the base current of the NPNbipolar transistor 22. Also, a potential at the base of thetransistor 22 increases. Consequently, the voltage between the base and the emitter of thebipolar transistor 22 increases, thetransistor 22 is turned on, and the base potential of the NPNbipolar transistor 21 is decreased to a level close to the ground potential VSS. As a result, theSCR circuit 20A is turned on due to conduction state of thetransistor 21, and the ESD surge current applied to the terminal 15 is quickly discharged via the discharge path formed in theSCR circuit 20A. In this manner, theNMOS device 17 which is a part of the dataoutput buffer circuit 14 functioning as a part of the circuit to be protected is prevented from being damaged by the ESD surge voltage from the outside. - According to the configuration of
FIG. 2 , because theSCR circuit 20A is composed of the bipolar transistors, theSCR circuit 20A has low parasitic capacitance and does not hinder the high speed operation of the semiconductor integrated circuit. Also, the trigger operation of theSCR circuit 20A is controlled and set by thebuffer circuit 14 itself and thus circuit design is much simpler. - <Modified Embodiment>
-
FIG. 3 shows a modified embodiment using aresistor 18R in place of theMOS device 18 in the second embodiment shown inFIG. 2 . The other parts are the same as inFIG. 2 and are assigned the same reference characters and descriptions thereof are omitted. In the embodiments ofFIGS. 1 and 2 , in a normal operation state, theMOS device 18 is logically controlled so as to be usually off by gate signals applied from theinternal circuit 11 to the gate, but in the modification ofFIG. 3 , this type of logical control operation is unnecessary. In the case ofFIG. 3 , after the potential of the node VO is increased due to the ESD surge voltage applied to thedata output terminal 15, this potential is gradually reduced via theresistor device 18R. However, it is sufficient for the resistor value to be such that the potential VO of the node is maintained not lower than a predetermined value in the short period of time when theSCR circuit 20A becomes conductive due to the turning on of thePMOS device 19 because of the increase in the potential of the node VO. This potential increase is caused by the avalanche breakdown at the NPN structure in theNMOS device 17 in the similar manner as the case ofFIGS. 1 and 2 . The value of theresistor 18R must be set such that the performance of thebuffer circuit 14 at the time of normal operation is not affected. - Also in the embodiments of
FIGS. 2 and 3 , as in the embodiment ofFIG. 1 , theMOS devices resistor 18R function as a part of the circuit to be protected when the ESD voltage is not applied, and function as a trigger circuit when the ESD voltage is applied. - In
FIGS. 1, 2 and 3, the gate of thePMOS device 19 is connected to theVDD terminal 12. However, the configuration is not restricted to this, the gate of thePMOS device 19 may be connected to a VDD terminal other than theVDD terminal 12, for example. That is, the gate of thePMOS device 19 may be controlled high-level during the normal operation. - <Third Embodiment>
-
FIG. 4 is a block diagram of yet another embodiment of the invention. In the embodiments and modified embodiments of FIGS. 1 to 3, the ESDprotective circuit 20 or theSCR circuit 20A is inserted between thedata output terminal 15 and theVSS terminal 13, and the ESD surge current is discharged to theVSS terminal 13 via thecircuit FIG. 4 , the ESDprotective circuit 20 is inserted between thedata output terminal 15 and theVSS terminal 13, and also another ESDprotective circuit 30 is inserted between thedata output terminal 15 and theVDD terminal 12. - Thus, a
trigger circuit 31 of the ESDprotective circuit 20 is connected to a connection node VOL of theNMOS device 17 and theNMOS device 18 of theoutput buffer circuit 14, and also atrigger circuit 32 of the ESDprotective circuit 30 is connected to a connection node VOH of thePMOS device 16 and aPMOS device 33 of theoutput buffer circuit 14. A source of thePMOS device 33 is connected to theVDD terminal 12. In this embodiment, thetrigger circuit 31 is formed of, for example, a PMOS device, and a gate as a control device of the trigger circuit is connected to theVDD terminal 12 as is the case in the first embodiment ofFIG. 1 so as to set to be off in a normal state. Similarly, thetrigger circuit 32 is formed of a NMOS device and a gate as a control device of the trigger circuit is connected to theVSS terminal 13, and is normally set to be off. - As is the case in the embodiments of FIGS. 1 to 3, in
FIG. 4 , when the ESD voltage is not applied, theMOS devices internal circuit 11. - In the protective circuit of
FIG. 4 , the ESD surge voltage is applied to thedata output terminal 15 with theVSS terminal 13 as the grounding. In the case where this ESD surge voltage is a positive high voltage, the surge current caused by the ESD surge voltage is discharged to theVSS terminal 13 via the ESDprotective circuit 20 as is the case in the embodiment ofFIG. 1 . - Meanwhile, in the case where the ESD surge voltage is applied to the
VDD terminal 12 with theoutput terminal 15 as the grounding, first, there is a forward direction PN junction between the P-type source and the N-type well of thePMOS device 33 in a parasitic PNPbipolar transistor 33 a formed in thePMOS device 33. On the other hand, because NP junction between the N-type well and the P-type source is in the reverse direction, avalanche breakdown occurs at this portion, and in thisPMOS device 33, snapback action occurs and the parasitic PNPbipolar transistor 33 a becomes conductive. As a result, the PMOS device configuring thetrigger circuit 32 is turned on and the ESDprotective circuit 30 is triggered. Consequently, the ESD surge current is discharged from theVDD terminal 12 to thedata output terminal 15. - <Fourth Embodiment>
-
FIG. 5 shows a circuit configuration of yet another embodiment of the invention. The configuration of this embodiment is one in which the embodiment shown inFIG. 4 is improved further, and anSCR circuit 20A having the same configuration as that ofFIG. 3 is connected between thedata output terminal 15 and theVSS terminal 13 as the ESDprotective circuit 20 ofFIG. 4 . AnSCR circuit 20B having the same configuration as theSCR circuit 20A is connected between theVDD terminal 12 and thedata output terminal 15 as the ESDprotective circuit 30 ofFIG. 4 . Also, anSCR circuit 20C is connected between theVDD terminal 12 and theVSS terminal 13 as a third ESD protective circuit.PMOS devices SCR circuits bipolar transistors internal circuit 11, such that it is on at the time of normal operation. - The operation of the embodiment of
FIG. 5 will be described in the following. In the case where positive ESD surge voltage is supplied to thedata output terminal 15 with theVSS terminal 13 as the grounding, snapback action occurs at theNMOS device 17 and thePMOS device 19 becomes conductive, so that trigger signals are supplied to theSCR circuit 20A and the ESD surge voltage of the terminal 15 is quickly discharged to theVSS terminal 13 via thecircuit 20A. - In the case where the positive ESD surge voltage is supplied to the
VDD terminal 12 with theoutput terminal 15 as the grounding, snapback action occurs at thePMOS device 33 and thePMOS device 19B becomes conductive, so that trigger signals are supplied to theSCR circuit 20B and the ESD surge voltage of the terminal 12 is quickly discharged to theoutput terminal 15 via thecircuit 20B. - It is to be noted that in the case where a negative ESD voltage is supplied to the
VDD terminal 12, an ESD discharge will be occurred from theVSS terminal 13 to theVDD terminal 12 via thediode 26. - In a case where a positive ESD voltage is applied to the terminal 12 with respect to the
VSS terminal 13, thePMOS device 19C will become conductive in response to a high potential appearing at the node VOH due to the avalanche breakdown in the parasitic PNP transistor formed in thePMOS device 33, thereby discharging the ESD voltage via thecircuit 20C. - In this manner, when the ESD voltage is not applied, the
MOS devices internal circuit 11, and function as a part of the circuit for supplying the trigger signals to theSCR circuits 20A to 20C when the ESD voltage is applied. - <Fifth Embodiment>
-
FIG. 6 is a block diagram of a configuration of yet another embodiment of the invention. An ESDprotective circuit 50 shown inFIG. 6 may use theSCR circuit 20A used in the second embodiment shown inFIG. 2 , for example. - In the embodiment of
FIG. 6 , the ESDprotective circuit 50 and a circuit to be protected 51 are connected in parallel between apower source terminal 100 having a predetermined positive potential VDD and agrounding terminal 200 of a potential VSS. The internal structure of the circuit to be protected 51 is not shown, but at least a MOS circuit which functions as a part of the circuit to be protected 51 when ESD voltage is applied is formed therein. The configuration of the MOS circuit is such that when ESD voltage is applied to thepower source terminal 100, the MOS circuit becomes conductive to make a current flow due to the ESD voltage. When this current flows, the current is supplied to the ESDprotective circuit 50 as the trigger signal, the ESDprotective circuit 50 becomes conductive, and the ESD voltage from thepower source terminal 100 to theVSS terminal 200 can be quickly discharged and the circuit to be protected 51 is prevented from being damaged by the ESD voltage. - In this manner, when the ESD voltage is applied, the MOS circuit provided in the circuit to be protected 51 functions as a trigger signal generating circuit, and thus an electrostatic discharge protective circuit which has a simple circuit configuration and low parasitic capacitance as well as high ESD protective capability can be provided for effectively preventing the circuit to be protected 51 from being damaged by the ESD voltage.
- Additional advantages and modifications will readily occur to those skilled in the art. Therefore, the invention in its broader aspects is not limited to the specific details and representative embodiments shown and described herein. Accordingly, various modifications may be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the general inventive concept as defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.
Claims (20)
Priority Applications (2)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
US11/776,528 US7457087B2 (en) | 2004-05-25 | 2007-07-11 | Electrostatic discharge protective circuit and semiconductor integrated circuit using the same |
US12/267,360 US7688559B2 (en) | 2004-05-25 | 2008-11-07 | Electrostatic discharge protective circuit and semiconductor integrated circuit using the same |
Applications Claiming Priority (2)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
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JP2004155051A JP4515822B2 (en) | 2004-05-25 | 2004-05-25 | Electrostatic protection circuit and semiconductor integrated circuit device using the same |
JP2004-155051 | 2004-05-25 |
Related Child Applications (1)
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US11/776,528 Division US7457087B2 (en) | 2004-05-25 | 2007-07-11 | Electrostatic discharge protective circuit and semiconductor integrated circuit using the same |
Publications (2)
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US20050264963A1 true US20050264963A1 (en) | 2005-12-01 |
US7256976B2 US7256976B2 (en) | 2007-08-14 |
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US11/094,091 Expired - Fee Related US7256976B2 (en) | 2004-05-25 | 2005-03-29 | Electrostatic discharge protective circuit and semiconductor integrated circuit using the same |
US11/776,528 Expired - Fee Related US7457087B2 (en) | 2004-05-25 | 2007-07-11 | Electrostatic discharge protective circuit and semiconductor integrated circuit using the same |
US12/267,360 Expired - Fee Related US7688559B2 (en) | 2004-05-25 | 2008-11-07 | Electrostatic discharge protective circuit and semiconductor integrated circuit using the same |
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US11/776,528 Expired - Fee Related US7457087B2 (en) | 2004-05-25 | 2007-07-11 | Electrostatic discharge protective circuit and semiconductor integrated circuit using the same |
US12/267,360 Expired - Fee Related US7688559B2 (en) | 2004-05-25 | 2008-11-07 | Electrostatic discharge protective circuit and semiconductor integrated circuit using the same |
Country Status (5)
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US (3) | US7256976B2 (en) |
JP (1) | JP4515822B2 (en) |
KR (1) | KR100697750B1 (en) |
CN (1) | CN100468724C (en) |
TW (1) | TWI251262B (en) |
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US7933107B2 (en) | 2006-11-24 | 2011-04-26 | Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba | Electrostatic discharge protection circuit device |
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US20100202090A1 (en) * | 2009-02-09 | 2010-08-12 | Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd. | Protection circuit, semiconductor device, photoelectric conversion device, and electronic device |
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US11418025B2 (en) * | 2020-11-03 | 2022-08-16 | Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd. | Device and method for electrostatic discharge protection |
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Also Published As
Publication number | Publication date |
---|---|
US20090067107A1 (en) | 2009-03-12 |
US7688559B2 (en) | 2010-03-30 |
KR20060046150A (en) | 2006-05-17 |
JP2005340380A (en) | 2005-12-08 |
JP4515822B2 (en) | 2010-08-04 |
CN1702860A (en) | 2005-11-30 |
CN100468724C (en) | 2009-03-11 |
US7457087B2 (en) | 2008-11-25 |
US7256976B2 (en) | 2007-08-14 |
TW200539301A (en) | 2005-12-01 |
KR100697750B1 (en) | 2007-03-22 |
TWI251262B (en) | 2006-03-11 |
US20080013232A1 (en) | 2008-01-17 |
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